Freezing weather adds more misery

WEATHER misery is continuing as winter's icy grip took hold of the region just as the floods receded.

Police are urging drivers to exercise care and common sense in potentially treacherous conditions as forecasters warned of rapidly falling temperatures which are due to continue.

Teesside airport was one of the casualties yesterday, closed between 6am and 10.50am because of ice on the runway.

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A spokesman for the airport said two KLM flights, one inbound from Amsterdam and another due to fly were cancelled.

Bad weather in the Netherlands contributed to the problems, while a flight from Teesside to Aberdeen was also affected.

Many roads were also affected, an Arriva bus, with four passengers collided with a Suzuki Alto on the A68 West Auckland Road, close to the junction with the A1(M), near Darlington, at about 9.40 on Monday morning. No one was hurt in the crash.

In North Yorkshire two police officers escaped injury when their car skidded off the road and flipped on to its side while responding to a 999 call at Brayton, near Selby in the early hours.

The police said damage to the vehicle was mainly to the bodywork. There were seven other crashes across the county as vehicles failed to cope with icy roads.

On the A1 northbound at Catterick there was a two vehicle crash involving a Ford Fusion and a Mercedes Sprinter, but no-one was injured.

A North Yorkshire police spokesman urged drivers to be prepared.

He said: “When driving in wintry conditions it is important to exercise care and common sense. Leave more time for your journey, drive in accordance with the conditions and only travel if completely necessary.

“Ensure you check the weather forecast before setting off and plan your route in advance. Be sensible and drive with caution when faced with snowy or icy conditions.”

The freezing conditions heaped more misery on flood victims, some battling to mop up, 21 roads and bridges across North Yorkshire were still closed, including the County Bridge at Malton where fire crews were continuing to pump out water threatening properties.

The painstaking brick by brick demolition of the row of houses in Whitby condemned by a devastating landslip is continuing and could take up to a month.

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